Haynes, who took a medical leave of absence two weeks ago, returned to the team Monday. He met with reporters and revealed he underwent successful surgery for prostate cancer on Aug. 28, the day after Kent State announced Haynes would take medical leave.

Haynes said the cancer was located during a checkup last summer. He urged others to follow his path and get checked.

“It was found during a regular checkup last summer,” said Haynes. “There are really no common side effects with prostate cancer, so that checkup probably saved my life. Prostate cancer is most common among African-American men ages 40 and over, so I strongly encourage everyone in that age group to get a PSA screening.”

Haynes looks healthy and said he feels even better than he expected just two weeks after undergoing surgery.

The Golden Flashes went 1-1 in Haynes’ absence with offensive coordinator Don Treadwell serving as interim head coach. KSU was blown out on the road vs. Clemson in Week 1 before beating Howard 38-31 in the home opener over the weekend. Ahead of the Howard game, Haynes surprised the team by giving a pre-game pep talk in the locker room, per the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Haynes told the Plain Dealer he will be back at practice leading up to the game at Marshall on Saturday. However, Haynes isn’t sure if he will be on the sideline for the game. He could spend the game in the press box.

“I know where I want to be, but we’ll see how I feel later in the week to make that call,” he said.

Haynes is in his fifth season at Kent State.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!